Home > Press > UNM Offers New Graduate Degree Program in Nanoscience and Microsystems

Abstract:
The University of New Mexico has received final state approval to offer a graduate degree program in Nanoscience and Microsystems. The New Mexico State Board of Finance approval was the last step before UNM can officially begin granting a doctoral or master's degree in nanoscience and microsystems.

UNM Offers New Graduate Degree Program in Nanoscience and Microsystems

Albuquerque, NM | Posted on January 23rd, 2007

The interdisciplinary NSMS degree program is offered jointly by the UNM College of Arts and Sciences and the UNM School of Engineering. More than 70 faculty in nine academic departments worked together to develop the degree program. New Mexico State and New Mexico Tech will support the degree program by offering additional classes.

School of Engineering Associate Dean of Research Kevin Malloy says, "UNM is one of the first universities in the country to offer a Ph.D. in this emerging discipline. This program is a great example of how our faculty's leading-edge research benefits graduate as well as undergraduate students in a formal curriculum."

Nanoscience refers to the scientific phenomena that occur at sizes around a nanometer, which is one billionth of a meter. An example of scale is the walls of cells, which are five nanometers thick. The interdisciplinary field of nanoscience has evolved from the traditional disciplines of solid state physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering.

Microsystems are the human-scaled application of nanoscience. Nanoscience and nanotechnology have been referred to as the Industrial Revolution of the 21 st century. Demand for graduates in nanotechnology has been increasing steadily, but currently, only a few universities offer degree programs. The ground-breaking UNM degree program was developed under the leadership of the new program director, Professor Abhaya Datye of the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering.

Classes in nanoscience and microsystems are currently being offered in a number of different departments across UNM. In addition, qualifying students can apply for National Science Foundation-sponsored fellowships for study in the Nanoscience and Microsystems Degree Program at http://www.chtm.unm.edu/igert/

For more information about the NSMS program, please contact Professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Abhaya K. Datye at (505) 277-0577 or

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About University of New Mexico Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico now occupies 600 acres along old Route 66 in the heart of Albuquerque, a city of more than 700,000 people. From the magnificent mesas to the west, past the banks of the historic Rio Grande to the Sandia Mountains to the east, Albuquerque is a blend of culture and cuisine, styles and stories, people, pursuits and panoramas.

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